Peace of Mind
by ScatterKindness
Summary: Endgame Spoilers! Six stones, six different places in time. Steve Rogers has one last mission, to return each of the infinity stones to the exact place and time they were taken from. Don't be seen, don't interfere, and don't mess it up no matter how much you wish the future could change.
1. Space

New Jersey, 1970

_See you in a minute. _The words run through my mind as I look out over the meadow.

Her smile replays again and again. I hadn't known then what would happen, how I wouldn't see her again, because she was never coming back. Standing in the machine reminds me of what we lost.

Sam stands with his arms crossed. He looks nervous as he watches me prepare to travel through time. Bucky stands closer, his hair ruffled by the wind. There is a kind of sadness deep in his eyes. It's almost like he can feel the strength of the pull that is luring me closer to Peggy and away from everything else.

Bruce pushes the button, sending me away. The blur of colors and lights blinds me until it disappears and I'm standing in front of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Off to my left I can see Tony coming out of the main entrance, accompanied by Howard Stark.

The warm breeze runs through my hair as I step out of sight. I make my way to the locker I remember from my first visit. I stash my suit in a locker, changing into an officer's uniform.

I pull my hat low over my face, slip on sunglasses, and enter the flow of people in the hallway.

Tony pulled the tesseract from a deep storage locker deep in the base. Before my departure Bruce had found a way to form casing for the stone in the shape of a square. It looked about as close to the real thing as possible.

The hallways get narrower and less crowded as I move farther below ground. I don't know where exactly Tony found the tesseract so I end up roaming the basement and dodging people as best as I can.

The basement is like a maze, I begin to panic as time passes and I remain no closer to finding what I'm looking for. I end up grabbing a young looking man who by his uniform I assume is low ranking.

"Excuse me, Son," I say. "I'm here from New York to see the Tesseract, I was hoping you could point me in the right direction."

"Uh, well, I don't really know," he stutters. "Hey are you working on the Pegasus project?"

"Yes, just a direction would be great," I say, trying to keep a smile on my face. He points back in the direction I had just come from.

"I think it's the third left that way."

I was too happy to question how he suddenly had the specifics.

"Thanks," I say, trying not to sprint off. Following his directions I find the empty box and replace the Space Stone.

"More trouble than you're worth," I mutter to it as I turn to go.

As I do, alarms blare overhead. I step out into the hallway and get caught in the swarm of panicked people. I desperately look for someplace private as I get pushed along.

"What happened?" someone just ahead of me asks.

"I heard that someone stole some of Doctor Pym's work," someone else answers.

He just got back to his office and saw that I took the particles, I realize. It takes forever, but I finally break off from the mainstream. Unfortunately I find myself close to what must be the command center.

"Why did you leave your office, Doctor Pym?"

The voice seems to stab my heart. Peggy. I see her out of the corner of my eye. All business, her curls bouncing around her face as she takes command of the situation.

I duck into a different hallway and continue on my way, hoping to find a way out. Instead I find myself back at Pym's office. It's empty as he has just run for help and people are on their way. I look behind me, then race inside and grab more of the red vials. I push through a door in the back to avoid being seen. That room is empty so I quickly pocket the vials and realize that I've left my suit in a locker. People rush into the room I've just come from.

"The bastard took more!" Hank's indignant cry forces me to move again. I find my way back onto the first floor. Finding the locker room takes a while in the chaos, but the place is empty. Before I can be stopped again I travel.


	2. Mind

New York, 2012

I land in the same alley as the one Tony, Scott, Bruce, and I landed in before. I take a minute to collect myself. Peggy's voice is still ringing in my ears, the pull that already exists has grown stronger. It's hard to put her out of my mind, but I have to, for the mission.

I sneak toward Stark Tower staying behind debris. A wave of pain hits me when I catch a glimpse of Tony flying high over the scene. As a get closer I see Natasha, her red hair calling my attention. I stop for a moment, filled with pain for my lost friends.

It's a suffocating feeling, one I know won't leave soon. It's hard to see them like this so alive, and brave, and real. I force myself to look away and continue on.

I enter the tower and slip past the people inside. The fight has just ended and the place is a mess. I make it up and spot myself exiting the elevator. I find another case, and put the new scepter inside. I meet Sitwell at the bottom floor when they are exiting the elevator.

"Change of plans," I say, holding out the case. "I'm needed somewhere else."

Sitwell raises his eyebrows at me.

"Careful," I say, turning to leave. I make it to the door.

"Steve?" I turn slowly, my heart racing.

Natasha is walking toward me. "I thought you were coordinating search and rescue."

I'm frozen. "I am," I say, breaking the spell. "Heading back out now, I just wanted to make sure everything was alright."

Her eyes narrow at me, but she lets it go.

"How bad is it?" she asks.

"It's bad," I say, racking through my mind trying to remember what I was doing at this moment in 2012. "Where are they using you?"

"I'm here to help." She falls in step with me. "What are we looking at?"

"Well, it'll take some work, but I think we can fix this mess."

"Good, where are we starting?"

I blank. Looking through the destruction my eyes find a S.H.I.E.L.D. team.

"Go take charge over there." I say, pointing.

Finally she leaves. I watch her go, her red hair bouncing around her face, her green eyes catching the light just right. _I used to have nothing_ her words replay in my mind, I try to stop them but they keep coming. _Then I got this. This job. This family. I was better because of it, and even though they're gone I'm still trying to be better. _She was a hero. She deserved better.

Behind me the Hulk bursts through the door back inside the building, bringing me back to my senses. I make my way back to the ally to find it already occupied.

I watch as we all disappear. I hear the conversation again. _You trust me? I do._

From my hiding place I can see his daughter's face in his. I have to move on. I hear him in my head long after I leave that spot on my way downtown.

_To not die trying would be nice._


	3. Time

New York, 2012

The address that Bruce gave me leads me downtown. I make my way up through the building until I hit the roof. Crouching behind a door I see Bruce talking to someone, and then he's gone. I step out.

"Hello." I say.

The woman looks up. She's bald, dressed in yellow and orange robes and a thick black belt. She's very pale and a large necklace hangs around her neck. She casts her dark eyes at me without concern.

'Who are you?" she asks.

"My name is Steve Rogers." I say, stepping forward. "I'm here to return the Time Stone."

Her mouth turns up in a small smile.

"So you survived?" she asks.

"We lost good people, but yes we won."

"And Strange, what was his plan?" she asks.

"I never actually heard it, but whatever it was it worked."

She holds out her hand and I place the glowing green stone in her hand.

"Thank you," she says.

I nod. The stone hovers in the air in front of her and she guides it into the necklace which opens at her command.

"Thank you for letting us fix what happened."

"Would you like a cup of tea before you go?"

"I shouldn't," I say, but exhaustion is taking over my body. I end up in the kitchen with a cup of tea in my hands.

"Congratulations," she says. "I'm happy that your plan worked."

"Me too," I say. "I'm sorry, I missed your name?"

"I am called the Ancient One."

"And you protect the Time Stone?" I ask, leaning back in my chair.

"It is the job of the Ancient One. After my time the stone will be passed on to Doctor Strange." She sits down next to me. Her fingers lace around her own cup.

"You do a good job," I say.

"You are surprised that it hasn't caused you more trouble," she smiles.

"I am, but I'm very happy it hasn't. I've seen first hand what these stones can do."

"You've seen others?"

Her eyes spark with interest.

"I'm on my way to return the rest," I say, startled by how easy the words seem to slip out while I'm around her.

"The rest?" her eyes widen. "You mean you found them all?"

"Yes, Ma'am, I am returning each to the exact place they were taken at the time we took them. I was told it was your idea."

I feel uncomfortable as her eyes seem to search my soul.

"It is the mark of a good man," she says. "When he has the power of the universe at his fingertips and he chooses not to even reach to it."

Guilt squeezes my heart. She doesn't know how much thought I've given to Peggy, all the scenarios I've run though, how my excuses are becoming more and more weak the more I come up with.

"Something still calls you?" she leans forward.

"I had a life in Brooklyn before I joined the army," I say.

"Yes, the story of Captain America is a long one."

Her smile isn't full of pity, more of a sympathy that calls me to tell more.

"When I came out of the ice. It was a different world. All those people I loved, that I still love, the lifestyle. It was all gone. I had to rebuild. I tried to be busy, to contribute to the world, save people. I wanted to forget that I was alone. But when the dust settled, I don't know, I guess I realized I was lying to myself. All that time I almost convinced myself I wanted want I was supposed to want but I don't want it. I'm still in love with this girl I met before this whole mess."

"Honesty is a brave tribute to have in your position, it makes you a good man, a better hero. Unfortunately," she smiles, "it makes you human."

I open my mouth and close it again, not sure what to say.

"You feel guilty because you still want your old life, and now that the power to go back is in your hands, you feel even more guilty because you are being called to abandon your mission that people you care about sacrificed for."

"Yeah," I say. "So what do I do?"

She stands and walks to the sink, running the water though her empty tea cup. She comes back and places her hand on my shoulder.

"You've fought your war, Soldier. What you do it up to you now. Just be careful. Make sure it's what you really need, and please don't mess up time, it's very delicate."

She brushes past me and toward the door. "It was a pleasure, Steve. Good luck."

She closes the door on the way out. I sit back in my chair and drain my cup. It's the best tea I've ever tasted. Was this really how my war ended? Dead friends, a broken world, and no closer to home then I was before? But how could I leave? Not when Tony and Nat gave everything so the world could go on.

I stand up. The suit spreads on and over my face again. I have to complete my mission.


	4. Reality

Asgard, 2013

The city that sprawls in front of me when the world stops spinning is more grand than I could have imagined. I'm standing on a balcony overlooking Asgard. I assume that I am in the castle.

I creep down the hall. I catch sight of Thor from the heist racing into a room. I crouch outside the door.

I hear Rocket's voice shout something and then they're gone. The replacing of this stone seems the most complicated. I understand to the best of my knowledge how to unextract the reality stone, which isn't saying much.

Guards are flooding the room. I wait until they leave and slip inside. I don't have the desire to be seen so I'm hoping to do this without confrontation.

My first reaction is to marvel at the grandeur of the room. I force myself back to my mission briefly reflecting how Thor must've looked down at the Avengers' Tower.

There is a young woman curled in a ball and sleeping on couch. I walk over. Bruce showed me a picture of Jane before I left to make sure I didn't give the stone to the wrong person. I can verify that it is Jane.

The metal prongy thing with the glowing red stone inside still doesn't really make sense but I hold it over her sleeping form. I gently tap her with it. Red spirals run from in into her skin. She jumps, causing me to jump out of my skin. She pushes herself up and stands in front of me.

"Who are you?" she asks.

"Well, um, it's a long story, but um, Thor thought that you'd be more comfortable if someone dressed like, um, someone from your planet," I stammer out.

"So you dressed like Captain America?" she crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow.

"I did tell him it was too much," I try for a sheepish smile.

"Was there something you needed to tell me?" she asks, her eyes narrow. "What is that?"

She steps closer to me and reaches out at the Reality Stone and replacer holding it.

"Oh, um you've never heard of this, uh, hair brush?" I'm really struggling.

Her fingers brush it and she jumps as more red sneaks under her skin.

"What was that?" she asks, scratching at her hand as if trying to get it off. "Was it supposed to do that?"

"Yes, definitely," I say, stepping back unsure of what was supposed to happen next.

"Well, I….." she trails off an odd look on her face.

She staggers suddenly. I jump forward and grap her arm. Her skin under my hand turns red and starts to leak to me. I quickly lay her down on the couch again. I look down at my hands it doesn't appear to be any red left on me.

I look back at Jane. The Reality Stone starts glowing, it rises out of the contraption. Tentacles reach for Jane and she levitates off the couch and hangs in the air in an awkward way that makes me want to help her somehow. The red surrounds her, encircling her to the point that I can't see her anymore.

"Sorry, Thor," I whisper as I watch the chaos. Eventually it fades into her skin and she is set down again on the floor. Footsteps outside alert me that I'm low on time. I scoop Jane up and put her back on the couch covering her with a blanket.

She moans slightly and I hesitate it goes against everything I am to harm someone like this. I hold on to the fact that her story ends up okay. Her eyes flutter and I quickly flip my suit up and whisk away before I have to cause anymore problems.


	5. Power

**Morag, 2014**

My mask remains on. The planet is dark, uninhabited, and full of foggy smoke that clouds my vision. The ground is uneven and the gravity pulls at me differently than on earth.

I keep behind behind boulders creeping farther into the planet. I'm looking for a guy named Peter Quill, apparently Tony met him on Titan and they fought Thanos together and lost.

As I keep going the ground gets lighter and dead trees stick up all around. Odd lizard like animals hiss as they scurry past. I find a small creek trickling along and follow it.

A couple hundred feet in front of me a person lays sprawled face down. I race forward and crouch to check his pulse. He's breathing steadily and seems to be just knocked unconscious. Just in front of him a stone room stands in contrast to the planet. I can hear voices inside so I stay low and peer in from the opening out of sight.

I can see Rodey and Nebula. Their suits go on and Rodey disappears, but Nebula remains. Blue light flashes from under her helmet and her suit turns back to her normal clothes. She falls to her knees. Her body is rigid, it's hard to tell on Nebula but she appears to be in a lot of pain. A strangled kind of cry escapes her lips.

I force myself to pull back, I can't interfere. A projector streams out of her eye. Thanos built of blue light stands in front of me. Beside him a green skinned girl with dark hair streaked with red. From what I've been told she must be Gamora, the daughter Thanos sacrificed for the Soul Stone. I don't understand what's happening but whatever it is I have to stay where I am. This must be how Thanos gets back to our time.

I shrink back as someone enters the room. Nebula, I realize, the only difference is the streak across her head is silver instead of copper. She crouches in front of Nebula on the ground. I'm too far away to hear their quiet conversation. Nebula from 2014 reaches out and takes the copper piece, replacing her silver one. She takes the bracelet too.

It is the hardest thing I've ever done to just watch. I could jump out and stop her. Stop Thanos from ever coming to our time. Stop Tony's death. I right the wrongs, fix it all right here. But I stay put. I have to.

Old Nebula disappears. I am about to go in when footsteps force me back to hiding. Thanos's minions enter the room and take Nebula away with them. I can hear them whispering as they do.

"Do you really think he dies in the end?"

The room is finally left empty and I step inside. I take the orb containing the Power Stone out of my pocket and hold it up to the glowing blue cylinder in the center. The light surrounds the orb and takes it inside.

The light laps at my fingers, sending an icy cold burning feeling down them. I pull away to find the tips burned. Behind me, Peter groans loudly. I jump behind the curve of the room's opening before I'm seen.

Peter slowly pushes himself up to his feet and does a full body pat down. I flip my suit and whisk away, hoping I left everything as it should be.


	6. Soul

Vormir, 2014

This is the stone that I'm not prepared for. Icy wind hits my face when the mask flips up, and snowflakes begin to settle on my hair. I'm looking up at a mountain, dark and bare looming up until it disappears into fog. I have no choice but to climb it.

Hand, hand, foot, foot I go up. The rocks cut at my hands in places, the wind chilling me to the bone. There is only one thought in my mind, this is a terrible place to die.

I reach a path cut out from the rock and hike the rest of the way up. I'm almost at the top when the billowing cloak catches my eye. I tense, instantly on guard. My hand grips the band of my shield, prepared to throw it. My next breath catches in my throat as my eyes recognize the face. The red skin and broken nose.

"Welcome Steve Rogers, son of Joseph. " He pauses. "Captain."

My shock is controlling me. I force air back into my lungs and raise my arm to throw my shield. "Of all people, I did not expect you to come after the stones when you went to such lengths to keep them out of my hands."

"Shmidt," I growl. "Why are you here?"

"The stones banished me here to guide others to a treasure I can not possess. A fitting end to my story, don't you think Captain?"

He sounds bitter at the end. My anger is soothed by his punishment and the toll it is taking as shown by the mountainous voice he's using.

"I'm here to make you a deal," I say.

"You should know, whatever you have planned it will extract a terrible price."

"I'm ready."

"We all think that at first, we are all wrong." Just as the words leave Shmidt's mouth an explosion goes off behind him. I run, no other thought in my mind then my friend, my family who loses her life on this mountain. Shmidt makes a feeble attempt to stop me but I brush past. I reach the top just in time to see a flash of black disappear over the edge. I stand there for a moment out of breath and confused. I can't interfere, but then again, how can I not.

"They have chosen their path," Shmidt says behind me. "There is nothing you can do for them now."

"No," I say.

"A soul for a soul," he says softly.

"No!" Clint's shout rings out from below me, his voice filled with pain.

I jump forward and fall to my knees at the edge just as Natasha hits the bottom. I can see Clint dangling below me, his arm still reaching out to save Natasha. Natasha lays at the bottom of the great cliff. Her body is splayed out on the rocks, red blood pooling around her.

I feel like I'm drowning. Clint disappears from the side. I don't realize Shmidt has glided up behind me until he speaks.

"Alas, Captain you are too late," he says, his voice quiet.

I move my mouth but sound doesn't come out. It's all I can do not to scream at the body lying cold below me. I don't know how long I kneel there, numb to everything, the cold, the burning in my lungs from not breathing, the pain I know will surge through me when I stand.

"Nat," my voice is a croak. I wheel around and face Shmidt at the edge of the cliff. "I have the Soul Stone," I say holding it out in my hand. "I'm giving it back to you, to this place, and I want Nat back. A soul for a soul, that's what you said."

"Captain." His ruined face holds a sorrow to it that drops my heart to my stomach. "The stones do not answer to men." The stone rises out of my hand and disappears into the air.

"No," I say, "she has to come back."

"There is nothing else here that you seek," Shmidt says. "Unless you wish to make another sacrifice, and take the stone again by losing that which you love."

I stumble away from the drop off. I hadn't known then when Nebula had explained it to me in New York. Thanos has murdered his daughter atop of Dormir. She was not a victim, she was a sacrifice. She hadn't been a loyal daughter, but she had been possibly the only thing Thanos ever loved.

My mission, my plan had sent Natasha to her death. Natasha, my Natasha, brave and smart, maybe the best friend aside from Bucky that I've ever had. Natasha, who was so broken. Who never thought she was worthy because she had been raised to kill. Natasha, who didn't want me to be alone, who wanted me to be happy. Natasha, who sacrificed everything so we could have a chance. Natasha, who lay at the bottom of the cliff.

I end up at the bottom somehow. My hands are scraped and bleeding. Images flash through my head. Tony stepping off the spaceship, his hoarse whisper, _I lost the kid_. Tears shining on Natasha's face as she tried for a smile. _You find a place in Brooklyn yet? Home is home_, Sam's words fill my head. Tony's half grin, _you'll get there someday. _Thor's smile, _besides this one there's nothing that can't be explained._ My own voice shatters the memories _We are supposed to be a team. _Tony's eyes search mine, _You're a liar. He's my friend _my voice sounds weaker. _So was I _Tony's words break my heart.

"Hey."

I whirl around.

"Steve?" Natasha is standing behind me, her silhouette made of red smoke.

"Nat?" I breathe.

"Did we win?" she asks.

"Yes," I say.

"I knew we would," Tears fill her eyes as she smiles.

"Natasha," I start, but she cuts me off.

"Its okay, Steve, really. It's okay. I wiped out that red in my ledger."

"That ledger probably got lost when S.H.I.E.L.D. turned out to be Hydra."

"We had some good times," she says and I nod in agreement. "Thank you, for the job, the family. Thanks for believing in me, making me better. It meant everything to me."

I open my mouth to speak but no words come out.

"And Steve? You really should get a life. Do me a favor and ask out that girl you can't stop thinking about. Maybe take her dancing."

Her smile is the last thing I see before she fades away.

I'm left in the emptiness. I stay there, not sure what to do next. I remember sitting in a broken bar all those years ago, Peggy beside me. Her words burn fresh in my mind as if she's saying them now.

"Did you believe in your friend? Did you respect him? Then allow him the dignity of his choice. He damn well must've thought you were worth it."

I stand alone in the middle of a blizzard, at the foot of a mountain. I've won my war.

My suit slips on once more.


	7. Peace

New Jersey, 1945

I stand outside the apartment building. I've been waiting, hoping I don't have the wrong address. The door swings open and she walks out, her brown hair bouncing around her shoulders, her skirts swinging around her ankles. She looks up her, eyebrows furrowing.

"Steve?" Her confusion shows on her face.

"Peggy," I breathe.

She opens her mouth but no words come out.

"I couldn't stay away, not when I owe my best girl a dance."

Tears threaten to spill from her eyes. Suddenly she's in my arms. Her sweet smell envelops my nose, she's soft and warm, and real. I'm home at last.


End file.
